The Wysteria Theory
by Claire-Littleton
Summary: A offisland soap opera of the losties. Skate, Jana, Hubby, Shayid, and Jan.
1. The Wysteria Theory

CHAPTER 1: The Wysteria Theory 

_Ding-dong ding-dong…ding-dong…ding-dong…_

The sound of the doorbell ringing awoke Kate from her mid-after noon daydreams. She daydreamed often, about her time on the island mostly. She never forgot her narrow escape from the law, and how she was lucky to have friends in high places…Hurley had paid millions to get her out. She walked through the living room into the foyer and opened the door.

"Jack?" she said, obviously sounding disappointed, because he responded, "Nice to see you too Kate."

"Sorry. Here come in," She closed the door behind him and watched as he surveyed the small suburban house. She led him up the stairs back into the kitchen.

"You want some coffee or something?" she asked. He nodded, and she put a pot on, and then sat down opposite him at the table.

"Nice house."

"I thought so," she said smiling. "But all the others on the street are identical to it."

"Welcome to Suburbia." Jack said laughing.

"Yea. So what have you been up to?"

"Just got a job in the local hospital, Chief of Surgery. I moved in just down the road" She nodded. "Hurley said you lived just down the road. Figured I'd stop by."

"Yea. So…" Just then, the doorbell once again interrupted Kate's train of thought. "I'll get it." She said, getting up. She opened the door to reveal Claire carrying a toddler in a yellow shirt and baby jeans.

"Daycare delivery!" She said cheerfully, handing the baby over to Kate. She then noticed Jack. "Oh, hi Jack." She looked at Kate.

"You want some coffee?" Kate asked.

"No, I gotta go, Charlie's trying to make stew. I don't trust him to not burn the whole house to the ground." She rolled her eyes. "But Winnie is dead tired from playing with Aaron, so she'll sleep for a couple of hours. "

"Okay thanks. See you tomorrow."

"Yep." Claire left, leaving Kate all alone with Jack again.

"Do you mind if I put her down?" Jack shook his head and Kate left to go and set her down in the nursery. When she came back the coffee was ready.

"Sugar and crème are on the shelf behind you."

"Okay thanks." He got them down. "So what have you been up to?"

"Nothing really. Mostly I've been on maternity leave."

"How old is she?"

"Almost one year."

"Who's the…" Jack didn't get to finish his sentence, as someone came through the door and entered.

"I'm home!" Came a familiar southern accent as none other than James Ford himself entered the kitchen, and hung his leather jacket on a hook by the telephone. He looked up and noticed Jack.

"Well, hello Doc," He said, not missing a beat despite his surprise. "Fancy meeting' you here."

"Hello yourself Sawyer."

"Jack just dropped in for some coffee. He moved in next to Libby and Hurley." Kate said to fill the silence.

"Yea, but I better get going. My first shift at the hospital starts in about an hour." He walked out and picked up his jacket. "I'll see you guys later."

After he left. Sawyer opened the fridge and too out a beer. "So, what's old Jack-hammer up to these days?"

"Apparently, he got a job at the hospital. Chief of Surgery."

"Ah, well, old habits die hard."

"Yea, guess so."

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As soon as Jack left he headed for a bar. He actually didn't start work till next week. He never knew Kate and Sawyer got together after rescue came. He thought maybe he had a chance with her. But he was wrong. He had nothing to do but drink his disappointments away. So he did.

After about his second drink, he heard a voice that he knew, but couldn't quite place it.

"Hey, isn't this how we met the last time?"

_Ana-Lucia. _

"Yea, but let's hope we don't go through that scenario again." Jack laughed back.

"Yea." She was about to say something else, but the bartender came.

"What do you want?"

"Tequila and Tonic, with a wedge of lime."

Once he was gone, Jack questioned, "I thought you took lemon."

"Yea, I decided to shake it up a bit." She replied reaching for her wallet.

"I'll pay."

"No."

"Yes."

"You sure?"

"Yea, why not?"

"Thanks man." Ana Lucia replied, looking back at him with a newfound interest.

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"So, guess who moved in next to Hurley and Libby?" It was dinnertime, and Charlie had just come home from a sound check.

"I don't know. Jin and Sun?"

"No they're still in Korea."

"Shannon and Sayid?"

"Touring France. They're coming at the end of next month."

"How you amass this information never ceases to amaze me Claire. So who was it?"

"Jack. I saw him at Kate and Sawyer's when I dropped Winnie off."

"Really? What was he doing there?" Charlie asked, thinking something he probably shouldn't have been.

"Having a cup of coffee."

"Mmm-hmm. For now it's coffee. But in a couple of weeks of him, we're going to be living on Wysteria Lane."

"Charlie!" Claire gasped.

"What? There was a lot of tension between those three on the island! What makes you think it will be any different now?"

"That Kate an Sawyer are married…"

"Cough. Las Vegas Drive-Thru. Cough. " Charlie interrupted."

"…And they have a child."

"That's a child? I often mistake it for a…"

"You finish that sentence and you sleeping on the curb wouldn't be far enough away." Claire said testily.

"Sorry."

"Here, can you take Aaron? I have to call Shannon and let her know."

"Why?"

"Because…she loves The Desperate Housewives."

Charlie chuckled, reaching for Aaron, but secretly, he really was worried about how far this Wysteria Theory would prove to be right…

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A/N: Okay, so what did you think? It's just a default chapter, but from now on it will get more soap opera-ey. And just so you know, some of the things aren't going to be what I necessarily want to happen; they just do because it makes chaos.


	2. Unfortunate Circumstances

**CHAPTER 2: Unfortunate Circumstances**

Shannon had just come back from the small French café about 5 minutes before Claire called. She loved Paris. It was so beautiful, especially the hotel they were in. They used the money from the airline to go, and still had enough left to get a studio apartment in the city near the suburbs where everyone else had chosen. Shannon had refused, being a city girl at heart, saying she preferred to watch housewives on TV not be one, which was ridiculous, because both Kate and Claire were working women…okay, so Claire was on maternity leave…but she volunteered at various places, and baby sat Winnie during the days.

Her silent daydreaming was interrupted by Sayid coming out with Shannon's new one-gig phone, also a treat from the airline, which was ringing loudly with the song Maneater by Nelly Furtado.

"Shannon, I'm begging you, answer the phone," Sayid said as he held the phone at arms length. She smiled, and grabbed it,

"Drama Queen."

"I'm not female," Sayid said with mock anger.

Shannon smiled again and opened the phone. "Hello? Oh, Claire, Hi! What? No Way! What did she say? Him?" She paused, as Claire explained. "Desperate Housewives much?" This comment was followed by more girly conversation and some squeals, sighs, and multiple ohmygawds from Shannon. Then she said goodbye and hung up.

"It was Claire."

"Well, it certainly wasn't a telemarketer." Sayid said, then imitating Shannon on the phone.

"Oh no you just didn't!"

"Oh yes I did."

She picked up a handful of leaves off the balcony and tossed them in his face, to which he replied to by picking her up and threw her over his shoulder. She screamed and giggled as he dropped her on the bed, then sat down beside her, kissing her passionately. Just as they were really getting on, a buzz ran through the room, and Sayid got up to answer the door.

"Shannon, you have a visitor." He yelled, in a tone she didn't like.

She came to the door, smoothing her hair back into place, and saw a familiar woman in a business suit. She had her hair pulled back in a tight bun, and carried a laptop carrying case. She recognized her instantly, unfortunately.

"Sabrina?"

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"Why are you here."

"It's under unfortunate circumstances, I'm sorry to say. I need to discuss something about your father's investments with you."

"Oh, so now you want to talk money." Shannon said angrily.

"Do you know what your father did for a living?"

"Yea, he was in a business, he…" Then Shannon realized. She had no idea what he had been doing. They always had plenty of money, so she didn't really care how they got it.

"He conned people. And now he had a debt I can't pay."

Shannon's eyes widened and she looked closer. Her hair wasn't pinned just right, but a few stray hairs were hanging at the bottom of the bun. She had a coffee stain, but it was hard to see against the charcoal black of her business suit. Her hands were clenched. But what Shannon noticed most were her eyes, and how black and big they had become.

"I used Boone's money, but…"

"You used Boone's money?" Shannon was shocked. "It was supposed to go to charity."

"He's dead Shannon, no will, and I need it more than some homeless bum." She spoke so passively about his death, Shannon clenched her teeth to stop from yelling at her or knocking some sense into her pointy, inflated head.

"He had a fake name, so the authorities don't know yet, thank god. But this mafia of thugs are bombarding me with phone calls, and letters and emails." She paused. "I need money."

"No." Shannon said. "No."

"What?" She said, the fire back in her eyes. "After all I've done for you…"

"You have done nothing for me!" Shannon yelled, jumping out of her seat. "When I needed money for my internship, you said no. When I needed a home, you cancelled my rent. I HATE YOU!!!"

The room went silent, and Sabrina's eyes watered.

"Get out." She didn't move. "OUT!"

Sabrina walked towards the door. But before she left, she said one last thing. "Shannon? His name…his fake name…was Martin Sawyer." Then she left.

Shannon collapsed on the couch in tears.

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"Hey what time is it?" Ana-Lucia had been talking with Jack for a while, losing track of time as the chatted about everything from politics to the weather to fellow castaways and new movies.

"Uh…11:58."

" Oh, ok, then I better get going. I start my job back at the L.A.P.D. tomorrow…"

"I guess I'll see you later."

"Yea." There was a silence as neither one of them made a move to leave. "Uh, here's my number. Call me whenever after 9 pm and before 5 am."

"Yea, okay. Sure." He tucked the number into his wallet, and watched her leave, walking towards her red sports car. After she left, he to got up and went home. But as her was getting ready to go to bed, her put his pants into the wash…with the number still in his pocket.

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	3. The Sparks Fly

**CHAPER THREE: The Sparks Fly**

A/N: Basically this is just a filler chapter to explain a big turn in the plot line. Next chapter will have Hurley and Libby in it, and will be very dramatic.

Disclaimer: I don't own 96 Fm, whether I've been listening to it since I was four or not…but I just wanted to put it in.     

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"Shh, honey, mommy needs you to go to sleep now honey." It was almost midnight and Kate was still working on getting Winnie to go to sleep.

"You want some help with that?" Sawyer asked, standing in the doorway.

"You want to? Be my guest. I need caffeine. Lots and lots of caffeine…"

She handed the wailing baby to Sawyer, who took the bay in his arms, rocking her gently. Instantly, she stopped crying and cooed up at him. He looked at Kate, smugly.

"Don't even say it." She said, grabbing an empty bottle off the dresser and taking it to the kitchen with her. He watched until she turned the corner at the end of the hall, and then placed the sleeping baby back into her crib. He turned on the baby monitor, and the radio. Winnie had developed a weird fetish of sleeping to the local country music station, _96 FM. _

He walked into the kitchen and sat down opposite Kate on the breakfast bar, where she had already made herself her coffee.

"What, you didn't make me one?"

"You don't drink coffee Sawyer."

"Yeah, well, you could have asked." He said with mock anger, smiling at her. He got up, and went over the fridge, and pulled out a cold beer. He returned to his seat opposite her.

"So, what's on the schedule for tomorrow?"

"Claire and me are going to go and sign these guys up for a daycare system. There's supposed to be a good home-run down on Fontana Drive."

"Day care? Already? "

"She's almost 2 years old Sawyer. She needs to interact with other people. Other kids. Did you get her to sleep now?"

"Yep. She always does when it's me." He smirked.

"Rub it in why don't 'cha?"

"I didn't hear a thank-you.' Sawyer responded testily.

"Thanks." Kate sighed while Sawyer smiled and handed Winnie back. "Now could you go check on that coffee while I put her back in bed?"

"Yea sure." He said, kissing the babies head softly and then Kate. "And make sure the radio is on."

"Always do." She said, as he walked down the hallway and she placed the sleeping baby in her crib. She turned to turn on the radio, only to find out the batteries had died.

_Crap, now I have to find that old cord _She thought as she dug through a box to find it. She found two of them, but without thinking why there were two, she grabbed the first one and plugged it in.

It wouldn't be until well afterwards when Kate remembered why they bought the second one. Because the first one was fraying and was a fire hazard, and because it hung by the very flammable curtains, they didn't want to take that chance. But she didn't remember they, and she plugged the fraying cord in and got her coffee, and they went to sleep. And then, the sparks started to fly. And it was too late.

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	4. That's The Way The Cookie Crumbles

CHAPTER 4: That's The Way The Cookie Crumbles 

A/N: I just want to thank mouseclick815 for her house, because it's what I based the suburbs houses as (except I changed a few things in the kitchen…not that you don't have a very nice kitchen. I'm actually very fond of the kitchen, and the chocolate ice cream that sits in the freezer as I type this. LOL). And because she has a nice house. With skylights, I might add, which are very handy for this chapter.

"So I guess your chat with your Stepmother didn't go well," Sayid said after he heard the door slamming and Shannon came into the bedroom with all her make-up smeared from her tears.

"Do we have to talk about this?" she asked, pulling everything out of her dresser.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm going home Sayid. I can't be here anymore."

"Going home to where?"

"To the apartment. In L.A."

"Come on don't let her ruin the vacation."

"Can we please just GO?" Shannon said. Then she sat down on the bed and started compulsively folding clothes. She was on the third shirt when she couldn't get the sleeves folded in right, and burst into tears. Sayid walked over and put his arm around her.

"God, why does she always have to be such a bitch?" Shannon asked, wiping her eyes.

"Well, you know what they say. Life's a bitch and then you die." Shannon laughed a bit.

"Do you still want to go?"

"No. I still have to go check out that little shoe store down the road from that bakery."

"Of course you do," Sayid said. "One can never have enough shoes."

"I'm going to go now okay? I need some alone time to…think about stuff."

"Okay. Be back before 7:00 though. I have a surprise."

"Okay," Shannon said, and grabbed her purse of the end table. Sayid smiled, and went to go prepare.

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It was around midnight when Kate smelled the burning. She went back to sleep for another five minutes thinking it was just Sawyer talking a smoke or something. But it just got stronger the longer she left it. And then she heard Winnie crying. Getting groggily out of bed, she walked across the hall.

Her first thought was why the doorknob was so friggin' hot. Then she put two and two together…

"Winnie! Are you okay in there?"

"Momma! Want OUT!" She screamed. Kate wrapped her pyjamas around her hand and opened the doorknob. She gasped at the scene

The curtains and the radio were already history. The smoke blackened the change table and that whole east wall. The carpet was history. There was a huge wall of flames separating Kate from Winnie. Kate stared for a while then ran towards the door and woke up Sawyer.

"James, wake up!" She only used his real name when she was serious.

"Huh, what?"

"The entire nursery is…it's…its on fire. Winnie's still in there." He woke up full then, alert and awake.

"Okay, you get out. Go to Claire's and call the fire department. I'll be there in a few minutes."

"No. No, I'm not leaving without her."

"You go get to safety. I'll get her out." Kate's face was pained. "I promise."

After a quick hug and kiss, Kate left, and ran toward Claire's house, exiting through the balcony. Once he saw her at a safe distance, he went across the hall to Winnie's room…

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Kate rushed across the road to Claire and Charlie's. She banged on the door, hard, and multiple times, but nobody answered, so instead she ran to the back door. She grabbed the key from it's hiding place, inside the little plastic bird statue. She quietly entered the kitchen so that she wouldn't wake Aaron. Surprisingly however, Claire was sleeping on the couch and the sound of the door closing rudely awoke her.

"Kate? What are you…?"

"I need to use your phone. Now."

"Yea, over on the coffee table. Why can't you just use yours?" Claire questioned.

"Because the house caught on fire." Claire's eyes went wide.

"Well, why don't you…"

"Look we don't have time, just let me use the goddamn phone Claire!"

"Okay, okay." Claire handed Kate the phone. She dialled and sat down on the couch as the phone rung.

_Bring…Bring…Bring…Bring…Br…_Police Fire or Ambulance?

Kate took a deep breath. "Fire." Then waited.

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As soon as Sawyer entered the room, smoke filled his eyes and mouth. He felt his way over to the crib, and picked up Winnie. He put a blanket around her to shield out some of the smoke. By then it was getting so thick he could hardly see. He held one hand out and felt his way around to the door. He opened the knob and flung open the door. He walked down the hall to the stairs that led to the foyer. He was almost out when a beam fell form the ceiling on fire…right in front of the door.

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Kate held the phone close to her ear waiting for the 9-1-1 operator to put through her request. Claire got up from her chair. "I'm going to go wake up Charlie okay?"

"Yea." A couple of seconds after Claire left the automatic voice continued.

"Please state you address."

"815 Frontenac Avenue."

"Please state your home phone number."

"481-516-2342."

"Please state your subdivision.'

"Mountain View."

"What is your emergency?"

"My house is on fire! Will you just send a truck to it!"

"We have sent a truck. It will be there soon." Kate hung up. "Motherfuckers."

Claire and Charlie entered the room. Claire sat down with Aaron on her lap, but Charlie continued out the door, with a backpack in his hand.

"Where are you going?" Claire asked worryingly.

"I'm going to go help. Sawyer might need it."

"What's in the bag?"

"Stuff." Then he slammed the door and ran across the street to Kate and Sawyer's once upon a time perfect home.

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_Ah shit. _ Sawyer thought as he stared at the burning pile of wood in front of him. His first instinct was to go out the back door to the deck, but it was wooded and already a pool of flames, waiting for him to walk out onto it. In the middle of his thoughts he heard. A smash. A skylight had caved in. Wait…it hadn't caved in but instead somebody had pushed it in.

"Sawyer? You in there?" _Chucky._

"Yea! Over here. The doors blocked."

"I'm going to drop down a rope. You have to climb up it." Charlie yelled.

"What about Winnie?"

"There's a Bjorn on the end of the rope!"

"A Bjorn?" Sawyer questioned.

"Yea. It's uh, Dutch for baby carrier."

"Okay, I'm coming over." Sawyer made his way over the to the kitchen. By standing on the island, he reached up and placed Winnie in the carrier. Charlie slowly pulled up the baby, and then tossed the rope back down for Sawyer to climb up. It wasn't easy, but they managed to get all three up onto the roof.

"How do we get down?" Sawyer asked.

"Same way I got up. The vines." Kate had insisted they had vines growing on the fence things up they're house. Sawyer was extremely thankful for those right now.

They climbed down using the Bjorn to safely transport Winnie. They ran a safe distance from the house. And just as they got to the road, they heard sirens approaching in the distance.

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That's all I'm going to write, because it's late, I'm sick, and I have to go to school tomorrow. The next chapter isn't going to come for awhile because this one is so long, and I have a lot I want to put in the next one (Particularly an Libby/Hurley thing and the after math of the fire). Now make sure the menu is set to review, and press the purplish button and review! And possibly add this story and/or author to your favourites. :P


	5. In The Hospital

**CHAPTER 5:**

A/N: I had a bit of a writing cramp for this chapter, so I'm writing it in a different format. It will only be for this chapter, so don't worry if you find it hard to read. I hope you like it though, because it took an whole hour longer to type!

_PREVIOUSLY ON_ **THE WYSTERIA THEORY**_: AFTER THE TRAGIC FIRE THAT DESTROYED KATE AND SAWYER'S HOME, CHARLIE GOES TO HELP SAWYER ESCAPE THE FIREY BLAZE. MEANWHILE IN PARIS SAYID PREPARES A SURPRISE FOR SHANNON WHILE SHE GOES OFF TO THINK THINGS THROUGH AFTER HER STEPMOTHER UNKNOWINGLY TELLS HER THAT SAWYER AND HER SHARE A FATHER. JACK AND ANA LUCIA MEET EACH OTHER AND EXCHANGE NUMBERS, BUT JACK LOSES THE PRECIOUS PIECE OF PAPER TO THE DEPTHS OF THE WASHING MACHINE. _

_WILL HIM AND ANA STILL GET IN TOUCH?_

_WHAT IS SAYIDS SURPRISE?_

_WHAT WILL BE REVEALED IN THE AFTERMATH OF THE FIRE?_

_AND WHAT HAVE LIBBY AND HURLEY BEEN DOING THIS WHOLE TIME???_

_ALL THIS AND MORE IN A NEW CHAPTER OF…_**THE WYSTERIA THEORY.**

SCENE ONE

Ext. of Hurley and Libby's house. Zoom in to INT. shot of bedroom, sirens wailing in the background.

(LIBBY wakes up, hearing the sirens, and turns to HURLEY)

LIBBY: Hurley, wake up!

HURLEY (groggily): Huh?

LIBBY: I think something is going on at Kate and Sawyers. There was sirens heading that way.

HURLEY (Now fully awake): Police, Fire or Ambulance?

LIBBY: I don't know, the blind were closed.

HURLEY: You think we should head over there?

LIBBY (referring to their son, Diego): Is he asleep?

HURLEY: Haven't heard a peep all night.

LIBBY: Yeah, he could sleep through the hatch exploding. We can take him over there without waking him up.

HURLEY: Sure. Let's go.

(Both Hurley and Libby exit.)

SCENE 2

EXT. shot of the street with HURLEY and LIBBY walking towards KATE and SAWYER's house. KATE, SAWYER, CLAIRE, CHARLIE and AARON stand watching the firefighters try to extinguish the fire.

LIBBY (to Kate): What's going on?

KATE: The curtains in Winnie's room caught fire.

HURLEY: Is she okay? _(He looks at the child in Kate's arms.)_

KATE: They're sending an ambulance.

SAWYER: Speaking of which, shouldn't it be here by now?

CLAIRE: It is three in the morning Sawyer. They probably had to call somebody from the city in. That's at least a 15 minute drive. They paged them five minutes ago.

CHARLIE: I'm sure she'll be fine till then.

SAWYER: Are you a doctor now?

LIBBY: I was a nurse for 4 years. She should be able to last.

_(SAWYER scoffs.)_

LIBBY: Trust me.

_Zoom to behind the group as an ambulance drives up to the house. JACK hops out of the vehicle._

SAWYER: Oh, great. Doctor Do-Good.

(_KATE, ignoring SAWYER, runs over to JACK, while the rest follow. SAWYER reluctantly follows also.)_

JACK: What happened?

KATE: The curtains in the nursery caught fire.

JACK: How long was she in there?

SAWYER: Maybe and hour?

JACK: Has she had any trouble breathing?

KATE: She was gasping a bit after Sawyer got her out.

CHARLIE _(adds):_ And she was coughing when she was on the roof before Sawyer came out.

JACK: The roof? Never mind, I don't want to know. We have to get her to the hospital, hook her up to a machine to help her breathe. We have a small crew; so both of you _(referring to KATE and SAWYER) _can come.

SAWYER: Okay, let's get going.

KATE _(to Claire and Libby):_I have my cell; let me know if anything big happens.

CLAIRE and LIBBY: Okay.

_(Sawyer and Kate exit into the ambulance, leaving the rest of the group to stare worriedly at the smouldering house.)_

_CUE END SCENE_

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SCENE 3

(Open scene in hospital hallway. There are nurses entering and exiting random doors. Everybody in the hall is in white. Then a stretcher comes around the corner, followed be Kate and Sawyer.)

(Zoom in to shot of Kate holding Winnie's hand on the stretcher.)

KATE (to Winnie): It's gonna be okay, baby it'll be fine.

_A doctor walks up to Jack, on the other side of the stretcher_

DR. MAVERICK: This the kid from the fire?

JACK: Yeah. We need to hook her up to a breathing machine.

DR. MAVERICK: We have a spare one in room 34.

JACK: Okay. Can you get Andrea to re-stock the flu shots in room 69?

DR. MAVERICK: Ya. So you're going to handle this?

JACK: Ya. I can handle this.

DR. MAVERICK: Okay.

JACK (To KATE and SAWYER): You guys want to come in?

(KATE nervously nods, holding back tears. SAWYER puts his arm around her shoulders as they follow JACK and a REDSHIRT NURSE into the room.)

END SCENE

CUE END CREDITS


	6. Daddy Issues

**CHAPTER 6: Daddy Issues**

**A/N**: Okay, after Wednesday's episode, I just had to put this in…I would have written this sooner, but I have been away since Wednesday, and I only watched LOST on Sunday. I know, what kind of a fan girl am I watching it 4 days after it airs? And was it just me, or was Ben (Henry) 's speech to Sawyer on the mountain just a teeny bit… okay HUGELY gay??? Not that there's anything wrong with homosexuals, it's just…weird. I mean, he's Sawyer…and he's too, I don't know, perverted to be gay. But I am working on it now and hope to have it posted soon! Thanks for all the great reviews, especially from **Shannon101** who has reviewed every chapter! This one's for you Maggs. And I know you'll enjoy.

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Kate sat and waited anxiously beside Winnie's bed. Sawyer had gone out to the local Subway™ to get something for them to eat while they wait. She really didn't have much of an appetite, but it's the thought that counts. She leaned back and grabbed the latest copy of O™ Magazine and started to read. She fell asleep after she got to the first article.

After 10 minutes of sleep, Kate woke up to a nurse lightly tapping her on her shoulder. As she opened her eyes more, the nurse became more recognizable.

"Rose?" Kate asked sleepily, looking up at the older woman.

"Took you long enough to remember me!" She laughed.

"Just tired." Kate said, now fully awake. "I didn't know you were a nurse."

"Just part time honey." Rose paused, looking over at Winnie. "Last time I saw her she was just a newborn."

"It's been a long time since then." Kate responded distantly as she reminisced back to their days on the island. Life had been so simple then. No fires, or mysterious strangers from your past showing up, or rude awakenings at three o' clock in the morning because somebody had a bad dream…but she wouldn't have given it up for anything.

"Kate?" Rose awaked her from her daydream.

"Ya…just remembering…so why did you come in anyways?"

"Doctor sent me to tell you Winnie's 'diagnosis'." Kate listened intently. "He said that she should be ready to go home by lunch tomorrow. She's lucky to have been brought in this soon, or else some permanent damage might have been done to those young lungs of hers. She needs to stay hooked up to the machine because she was in the smoke for quite the long time. But over all…she'll be fine." Rose concluded.

"Thank god." Kate breathed a sigh of relief. She had never been so happy in her life.

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By the time Sawyer came in, Rose had long gone and Kate was anxiously waiting at the door of Winnie's room.

"Took you long enough." Kate said when she saw him come in.

"Well you'd be surprised how bus Subway™ is at 2:30 in the morning." (A/N: Trust me VERY busy)

Kate laughed. "Which one's mine?"

"Here." He handed her the carefully wrapped sub. "You'd be surprised at all the weird looks I got for ordering it. Who orders turkey, lettuce and tomato on a plain six inch (Authors favourite)? How much plainer can you get?"

"Well, I happen to like it." She took a bite. "Guess who I saw?"

"Who?"

"Rose. She's working as a nurse here part time. She came to give me Winn's diagnosis."

"Which was?" Sawyer said anxiously. He could be a very protective father when he wanted to be.

"She only has to stay until lunch tomorrow. She had very minor symptoms."

"Well it still scared the shit out of me." Sawyer said looking over at the sleeping child in the hospital cubical.

_Same here. _Kate thought. _Same here._

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After he and Kate finished their subs, she slowly began to nod off. He watched her sleep thinking how close they had all been to dying. _Why didn't I just install one of those fuckin' smoke detectors? _He thought guiltily. He didn't have much time to feel guilty about what had happened because his cell phone rang. He quickly answered to stop his ring tone of Animals by Nickelback to stop playing full blast. He removed Kate's head from his lap and moved out into the patient lounge across the hall and closed the door.

"Hello?"

"Hey. James Ford?" A girls voice came over the phone. She sounded to be about 12 or 13. _What the hell?_ Sawyer thought, wondering why a 12 year old was calling him.

"Depends who wants to know." He said, maintaining his voice of mystery.

"It's Clementine. Clementine Phillips…Your daughter.

Sawyer nearly hung up the phone, but something inside him stopped him from doing it.

"How'd ya get my number?"

"I tracked you down."

"What, you spend your days watching C.S.I. or something?"

"Yes." She responded so seriously, it almost made Sawyer regret making the joke.

"So why'd ya call?"

"Because I wanted to know why you left 10 million dollars to me." _Shit._

"Did your mom tell you this?"

"Well, my mom told me about you. She said that you didn't want me. But I think that's not true. Because I tracked all I could about you. You were in jail the year before I was born, but were let out for good behaviour. I had to track down the warden to find out what that was."

Sawyer sighed. This was the last thing he needed right now. This isn't how it was supposed to work out. "Does your mom know you called me?"

"No. But she won't find out."

"She will if she goes through the phone bill Harriet."

"No. I'm using my cell phone, and I'm in charge of my own phone bills."

Sawyer didn't answer.

"Look, all I want to know is why you left me the money."

Sawyer noticed that Kate had woken up and had walked over to him.

"Who are you on the phone with?"

"Look can you call me back later?"

"Yeah, sure." There was no missing the disappointment in the girl's voice.

He hung up the phone then walked over to Kate.

"We should head back to the room." He said.

"Who was on the phone?"

"Just Libby." He said, guilty for lying to her. "Wanted to know how Winn was doing." He would tell her. He would. But when the time was right.

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End file.
